Almost every student is curious to know about our origins, and most of us have been faced with difficult-to-answer questions like, “Where did we come from? How was the earth formed? Can you tell me more about that mysterious time known as the prehistoric age?”

Those of us who are engaged in the responsibility of educating children and young people are usually more concerned than most about providing answers to these fundamental questions. After all, our purpose as teachers is to educate the new generation, and that should include providing instruction about our origins.

However, the glaring problem faced by educators nowadays is the confusion that surrounds this whole subject. Did we evolve, or were we created? Did the earth experience cataclysmic change in the past, or has everything just continued along on a gradual course for millions of years? This uncertainty about our origins, of course, makes it a difficult subject to teach, and so it is not emphasized much in school curricula these days.

But our young people deserve answers to these questions, and our educational institutions are the ideal places for them to learn these answers. At this age, questions about our origins – of human history, of the earth, of the natural world – can loom quite large in the minds of young people. Questions about what were our ancestors like? Why was the prehistoric world so different from our present one? What happened to the dinosaurs? How did the fossils get there? Did man and dinosaurs co-exist? Did the giants of legend actually exist? How was the Grand Canyon formed? The seminar on “Our Origins” aims to address these and other questions with scientifically-based answers.

The presentation will touch on different subjects – history, physics, geography, geology, biology, even mathematics and literature. This rounded approach helps to bring some variety and also helps students to see how all of what they have learned can be used to understand more complex matters like this one about our origins. The presentation includes a great variety of pictures, always a useful aid to learning. But because of the complexity of some of the material, the presentation is probably best suited for those 12 years and over.

An effort is made to include the role of the Creator in the formation of the natural environment, without which it is impossible to properly understand the origin of the earth’s geological structures and biological life forms. However, the presentation points to the evidence of history and science rather than relying on any particular religious persuasion. It should be noted, of course, that acknowledging the role of the Supreme Being has the added advantage of encouraging students in their moral and ethical growth.

This presentation/seminar on “Our Origins” should leave a positive impression in the students’ minds that will stay with them for years to come. I believe that it will answer the questions that many of them struggle with; this in itself can relieve much insecurity, at least for those students for whom these questions are important. Overall, it will provide positive enhancement to any student’s educational and character development.

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The “Our Origins” presentation is organized by Edu-Origins, a non-profit educational service for high schools, colleges, and other institutes of learning.